vegan cheese sauce

This week is all about creating that decadent flavour and texture, amping up the nutrients, and ditching the high fat, high calorie ways of those usual culprits in your typical creamy or mac n’ cheese pasta sauce (I’m lookin’ at you butter, cheese and heavy cream).

This sauce is so healthy, that there’s no shame in drinking it from the blender.

Actually, it’s highly encouraged.

When you’re just dying for that creamy pasta experience…but you don’t want to dose yourself with a big ol’ bowl of heavy cream sauce, this is the pasta sauce for you.

Steam potatoes and carrots for 10-15 minutes (until you can poke a fork through them)

Add all the sauce ingredients to your blender, including the carrots and potatoes

Bring your pasta pot to a boil.

Place broccoli in the steamer (add more water if needed), and steam for 5 minutes.

Back to the blender: blend sauce ingredients until smooth (you may need to use a tamper to help in the beginning, but it should blend on its own. Let it blend for a couple of minutes for optimal creaminess)

Cook pasta of choice 1 minute less than what directions say.

Meanwhile, heat a pan to medium, add 1 tsp of oil (avocado is best), then the vegan sausage. Cook for 5 minutes, flipping around every minute or so.

*OPTION: to use 1 less pan, wait until the pasta is finished, and add the sausage to the bottom of the pasta pot while the pasta sits in sink in the strainer*

Strain, pasta, then put back into the pot with the broccoli and sausage.

Add the sauce to the pot and mix until each pasta noodle is super creamy delicious!

Either one is perfect for a colourful side dish for a holiday like……. Easter!

Benefits:

Cashews are packed with healthy fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) to help the absorption of the fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and vitamin K) found in the nutrient-dense greens. Plus, these healthy fats help brain development and memory!

Nutritional Yeast (NOOCH) is a vegan’s best friend. Not only does it taste cheesy, but it also is packed with Vitamin B12 (which comes from microorganisms in soil), the one nutrient that you might be lacking in on a vegan diet.

Turmeric is a magical ingredient. Not only does it change any recipe into a smashingly colourful dish, but it’s also one of the most powerful anti-inflammatory ingredients out there. Add a bit of pepper to increase the bioavailability of the curcumin in the turmeric by 2000%!

What I love about this is sauce that you can devour even more of it. It’s packed with nutrients + fibre, yet low in calories and fat. Sometimes the sauces made from nuts are just too much, ya know?

To create the pasta I made, just cook up your fave noodles, pan sear then chop up some vegan sausages (the Gusta brand is amazing), steam some broccoli florets, then mix this all together with your sauce. Top it all off with green onion and vegan parmesano (make this easy parm recipe, or find yourself some amazing Violife cheese to grate)!

Benefits:

Cauliflower is super nutritious, so don’t let the lack of colour fool ya’. This white magic is packed with folate, vitamin C, vitamin K, and vitamin B6. Plus, it’s a cruciferous vegetable, aka a cancer-fighting super veg with a good dose of antioxidants.

Carrots are known for their mega-dose of beta-carotene (an antioxidant that our body converts into vitamin A). What this means for you, is healthy skin and mucus membranes, a stronger immune system, and better eye health and vision.

Miso paste is an awesome addition, not only for the flava, but also because it’s fermented. Fermented foods do wonders for your gut aka microbiome aka microflora. This is where most of our bacteria lives! Since around 1/10 of our cells are human and 9/10 of our cells are bacteria, we’ve got to keep these bacterial cells happy by feeding them fermented foods. Eat that miso up.

This nut-free, vegan sauce is a light option for that cheezy comfort food feel. It's perfect for pasta or a dip with veggies and chips!

Author: Jules

Recipe type: Comfort Food, dinner, lunch, appetizer

Serves: 5 cups

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped

6 carrots, chopped

¾ cup nutritional yeast

½ large sweet onion, diced (or 1 tbsp onion powder)

2 cloves garlic (or 1 tbsp garlic powder)

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp miso paste

¼ tsp turmeric

⅛ tsp smoked paprika (optional, but gives it a nice smokey flavour)

1 cup plain almond milk (or any other plain plant-based milk)

Instructions

Steam the cauliflower and carrots until soft (about 10 minutes)

Meanwhile, (unless you're using onion and garlic powder), oil-free sauté the onion and garlic for about 7 minutes. Heat the element to medium, then add the chopped onions and garlic. Let the bottom of the pan brown, then add 1-2 tbsp of water to de-glaze the pan. As the onions cook, continue adding bits of water to prevent sticking if needed

Add the onion, steamed cauliflower, and carrots to the blender with the the rest of the ingredients

Blend until smooth!

If using as a dip, put in and oven safe dish and broil on high for 3 minutes.

Or, mix in with pasta, pour over roasted veggies, or just eat it by the spoonful 😉

3.5.3226

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WELCOME

Hi, I'm Julia! I like to simplify plant-based eating and make yummy recipes. I'm a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, certified plant-based chef, Olympian, and I make cereal (Jules Fuel). Enjoy!
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